Solo Suppers: Simple Delicious Meals to Cook for Yourself [Paperback]

Joyce Goldstein (Author), Judi Swinks (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2003

Most recipes serve four to six people, leaving the solo cook in a predicament. Enter acclaimed cookbook author Joyce Goldstein and her stellar repertoire of meals that are fun for one. From hearty recipes like Spicy Tortilla and Lime Soup and Tuscan Style Rib-Eye Steak with Rosemary and Garlic, to dressed-up salads and seasonal fruit gratins, each dish is designed to serve one in style. Essential tips and techniques offer valuable advice on smart shopping for one and stocking the pantry. Numerous recipe variations take advantage of seasonal ingredients, while an array of sauces can turn that salmon fillet or lamb steak into a gourmet feast. When the good company is your own, Solo Suppers is the way to go.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For many single folks, dinner options often are limited to ordering in or fixing some scrambled eggs and toast. And when the urge to cook a full meal does strike, soloists are habitually left with loads of leftovers. Enter Goldstein, a chef, author and teacher who cooks for herself a few nights a week. She presents this good-looking collection of recipes for "when you are alone and want a satisfying home-cooked meal." Goldstein (The Mediterranean Kitchen) explains how to go food shopping for one (a "challenging" task, she admits), how to transform leftovers into appealing new dishes (e.g., put leftover chicken in a salad, soup or risotto), how to stock a basic pantry, and how to keep wine (buy half bottles or use wine preservative spray). The author follows these clever tips with a slew of terrific recipes from sauces to pastas and grains to seafood and meat and even desserts for one. Most recipes are for average-size portions for one person, and feature Italian, Asian, Mexican, Spanish and even Middle Eastern influences. Goldstein acknowledges that not all the recipes are quick or meant for beginning cooks. But they are generally simple and revolve around fresh ingredients and smart combinations. Standouts include the comforting Chicken and Bread Soup, healthy and hearty Farro Salad, dependable Orecchiette with Broccoli and Chickpeas (to which one might add crabmeat or sausage), simple Asparagus with Eggs and Parmesan Cheese, and succulent Roast Chicken with Garlic, Lemon, and Herbs.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

This is another user-friendly book by a well-known San Francisco teacher, chef and restaurateur (Square One) Joyce Goldstein, that meets a very specific need: These are recipes for the single guy or gal who doesn't want to make do with corn flakes or cottage cheese for dinner. The author doesn't rely on shortcuts, unless you consider polenta with spinach and peas or asparagus with eggs and Parmesan a shortcut.
Many of Goldstein's dishes segue into second meals; all rely on excellent fresh ingredients. With this book as a guide, it's easy to eat well when you're home alone. -San Francisco Chronicle

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Product Details

• Paperback: 156 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books; First Edition edition (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811836207
• ISBN-13: 978-0811836203
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 0.6 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #132,557 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

149 of 154 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars I like it, but it's NOT for everyone December 24, 2004

By lovelymuse

Format:Paperback

I'm sort of baffled as to how to review this cookbook, because I think it's great for her intended audience, but the marketing is a bit misleading. Someone who is looking for truly SIMPLE meals to make for one person may be a bit dissappointed. So I'll just sum up my impressions of it so far.

First of all, it's a beautiful book. Nicely laid out, gorgeous photographs, personal antecdotes - it's just the sort of book I love browsing through when I'm feeling excited about cooking. I like the stylistic layout of the recipes, with the ingredients in a separate column on the side, and it's printed on thick, quality paper. It's a high quality paperback, perfect for laying flat on the counter.

Her attitude throughout is kind of gratingly pretentious at times. It's as if she expects the readers to look at her as some kind of culinary snob, so she deliberately makes comments to diffuse it, but the comments are sort of more pretentious than just snobbiness. For example, discussing eating polenta straight from the pot with a spoon: "... I make no apologies for my childish eating habits." Or, discussing microwave cooking - "... I will confess I have reheated coffee a few times. I am no longer a total culinary snob." Besides blatent examples like that, her tone and choice of words throughout are sort of exclusionary. I find it amusing and charming, but I'm sure other people will be put off by it.

In her introduction, she plainly says that this is not another book of quick meals for singles. Alot of the dishes in this book are rather lengthy and complicated. Her persian meatball soup, for example, requires mixing and rolling 30 tiny meatballs, soaking and precooking 2 different dried grains, and has 20 ingredients - all for 1-2 servings. On top of that, it's a yogurt based soup, which I found very difficult to not curdle and ruin. Is it good? I'm not sure, because I've tried it twice, investing hours each time, and haven't been successful. My mom saw the recipe and laughed - she's started calling this my "snooty single person cookbook."

Alot of the flavors she likes are strange. Lots of exotic herbs and ethnic spices, (cinnamon in the meatballs was a little strange). The recipes also seem pretty high in fat and cholesterol. Here's my favorite quote of the whole book (about spaghetti alla carbonara): "Yes, I realize that this is a high cholesterol special, but I don't care. I only eat this pasta twice a year. The rest of the time I am a model of Mediterranean dietary restraint." Haha. I guess she doesn't eat the other recipes in the book that call for several eggs, butter, cheese and heavy cream.

But if you can get past the pretentiousness, the apparent unhealthiness, and the complicated nature of some recipes, - most of them are REALLY good. The poached salmon is SO delicious that it's my new favorite way to eat salmon. All of the egg dishes are great, so are some of the soups.

I consider myself somewhat of an amatuer gourmet. I enjoy grocery shopping and reading cookbooks and trying new recipes, and most nights it is just me for dinner. I like this book because the food is good, and reading it makes me want to become a true gourmet. I think that I'm probably close to her target audience.

95 of 104 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Too complicated for me January 8, 2004

By Brendan

Format:Paperback

I'm sure anybody who has experience cooking or a desire to spend a lot of time cooking and shopping would enjoy this book a lot. I was hoping for something less complicated because I am not much of a chef, and I don't have the time to find exotic ingredients and prepare them. I was hoping for a cook book that would help me eat healthier (no frozen dinners), and save some money by not eating out 4 or 5 nights a week. Here is a quote from the introduction which sums up why this book is not right for me, "There is a growing market of sophisticated single diners who have traveled extensively, dined out in all manner of restaurants, know how to cook, and love to eat well." I would say that is a perfect description of the intended audience for this book. Unfortunately I am not part of it.

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Delicious, maybe; Simple, no. August 2, 2005

By April J. Brown

Format:Paperback

This cookbook features elegant recipes with long lists of exotic ingredients. Everything looks delicious, but I've only made a couple of recipes because they are not practical for my busy life. To cook from this cookbook, you have to plan ahead, buy unusual ingredients that are sometimes hard to find and are unlikely to be called for in other recipes, and be prepared to put some real time in to prepare the meal. If you enjoy cooking this way as a hobby, you may well enjoy this cookbook. However, if when you cook for yourself, you want flavorful, healthy food without a lot of effort, this is not the cookbook for you. I like the book for browsing through, looking at the pretty pictures, and imagining the recipes all made up. I rarely cook from it.